This story was originally published in February.
Were republishing it today forBroad Citys series finale.
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Can you picture Rachel Green wearing blood-stained jeans onFriendsso she can sneak weed through airport security in her vagina?
Of course you cant.
They wouldnt dare poop-scoop or use natures pocket to store their weed.Then theres Ilana Wexler, whos done both.
TV has long neglected to consider womens bodies as anything other than sexual objects.
Broad City,on the other hand,lets us right into the bathroom with its characters.
The bathroom wasnt off-limits.
And they have sex anyway!
(See: Carries lifestyle on a columnists salary or the entireFriendsapartment.)
In part, this reflects the massive cultural shift weve undergone in the last 15 years.
Millennials arepoorer than previous generationsand, in turn, might bemore fiscally conscious.
We increasingly dont want to be sanitized, and Abbi and Ilana sure arent.
Postcancer scare, Joanne is rabid to share in that young, hapless life: 32 guys!
My daughter fucked 32 guys!
In Joannes world, modesty had always been paramount Carrie Bradshaw would likely be too scandalous for her.
The relative mess of it all means Abbi isliving.
Owning your messiness means that no mistakes or bad choices matter past the moment they happen.
Can this be a destructive way to approach life?
However, plenty of moments thatBroad Citywould chuckle at are, inGirls world,reasons for horror.
For Abbi and Ilana, the gross moments arent disruptive or life-affecting; they just are.
Though the showknows that Abbi and Ilana are different than their forebears, it does occasionally honor them.
Its here we see the difference between the shows clearly.
She takesSex and the Cityas an inspiration, but makes it her own.
Being unashamedly messy means being honest about your body and what it does.
Thats the best part about comedy thats unafraid to be disgusting: You learn to laugh the embarrassment away.
